The present invention relates generally to gas turbine engines and, more particularly, to a unique stator ring configuration for use with gas turbine engines.
Some known compressors include a stator vane assembly that includes a plurality of stator vanes, each of which includes an airfoil that extends between adjacent rows of rotor blades. Some known stator vane assemblies include a plurality of stator rings, each of which are coupled to compressor casing circumferential slots. Some known stator rings include a plurality of segments that are circumferentially-coupled together. At least some known stator rings use identical segments.
Some known airfoils are associated with a series of natural frequencies. More specifically, the combination of the number of stator vanes and the rotational speed of the compressor may coincide with a natural frequency of the rotor blades, which may induce vibrational stresses. To facilitate avoiding the natural frequencies, and thus reduce vibrational stresses, some known gas turbine engines incorporate non-uniform vane spacing (NUVS). However, the various configurations of NUVS stator rings and individual segments require a specific order of assembly. Improper stator ring assembly may lead to high stresses and/or a failure of rotating airfoils, either of which may eventually lead to forced outages. Accordingly, the benefits derived from incorporating NUVS may be reduced or lost completely by misassembling the stator vane assemblies.
To facilitate properly assembling a NUVS stator vane assembly, some known stator rings incorporate more segments per stator ring or matching slots in the stator ring outer diameter with pins in the compressor casing. However, introducing these known embodiments, alone, did not effectively Murphy-proof assembling stator vane assemblies. Murphy-proofing, as used in the present application, is defined to mean modifying a device to facilitate reducing opportunities for error, misuse, or failure.
The present invention incorporates a unique stator ring configuration that facilitates Murphy-proofing the assembly process that is independent of previous embodiments and that easily retrofits into existing casings without modification.